Incorporação de lodo de esgoto na massa cerâmica para fabricação de tijolos maciços: uma alternativa para a disposição final de resíduo

The disposal of sewage sludge is a growing problem face up to management of sanitary sevices. Otherwise, because its making process characteristic, the Ceramic Industry can tolerate the presence of this wastes as raw material. This study has as object to confirm the use of the sewage sluge in the Ceramic Industry like a sustentable alternative for its disposal. Futhermore, this study quests to evaluate the maximum proportion for incorporation of sludge wich result in technically and enviromentally suitable bricks. For found this proportion, the research consisted of (1) making of bricks in full scale, adde up 0%, 5%,10%, 15%, 20%, 25%,30%, 35% e 40% sludge, with size 220x105x45 mm, hand-molded by rammer and baked by industrial kiln; and (2) tecnical and enviromental evaluation of this bricks, according to Brazilian norms. The raw material uses were two distinct clays come from Goianinha/RN and sewage comes from a septic system tank and pumped into tank vehicle, of Natal/RN. The technical evaluation allowed to conclude the addiotion of the sludge brings about signifcant lost of mass and the water absorption grew up according to increase of sludge: every sludge-amended clay bricks absorved more water than control group. Thus, the compressive strength was signicantly decreased because the increase of sludge: bricks with 5% sludge added lost 45% of strength achieved at control group; the bricks made with 10 and 20% lost almost 70% of bigger strength. With up to 25% sludge added to the bricks, the streght decreased over 90%. Concerning heavy metal leaching, the two maximum proportion wich have tecnical approval, it means bricks sludge added with 15 and 20%, can say there is no risk of enviromental contamination using those bricks. This way, in this work context, it can to conclude the maximum proportion atends the technical and enviromental criterion is 20%

Análise da adição de resíduo oriundo do tratamento de esgotos em massa cerâmica utilizada para fabricação de telhas

Sludge of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WTPs) disposal is a problem for any municipality, for this reason the amount of sludge production is now a key issue in selecting treatment methods. It is necessary to investigate new applications for this waste type, due to the restrictions imposed by the environmental organs. The raw materials used in the Red Ceramic, are generally very heterogeneous, for this reason, such materials can tolerate the presence of different types of wastes. In Rio Grande do Norte, the roof tiles production corresponds to 60,61% from the total of ceramic units produced. Due to the importance of the ceramic industry of roof tiles for the state, allied to the environmental problem of the sludge disposal, this work had for objective to verify the possibility of the incorporation of sewage sludge in ceramic body used for production of roof tiles. In the research, sludge originating from drying beds of WTP of the Central Campus from UFRN and clays originating from a ceramic industry from Goianinha/RN were used. The raw materials were characterized by techniques of: analysis of particles distribution by diffraction to laser; real density; consistence limits; chemical analysis by X-ray fluorescence; mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction; organic matter; and solids content. Five batches of roof tiles were manufactured in the approximate dosages of 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%. To evaluate the properties of each final product, tests of water absorption, impermeability, bending strength, leachability and solubility were accomplished. The roof tiles manufactured with sludge presented characteristics similar to the roof tiles without sludge in relation to the environmental risk. The results showed that it is possible to use approximately up to 4% of sludge in ceramic bodies for production of roof tiles. However, it is observed that the high amount of organic matter (71%) present in the sludge is shown as factor that limits the sludge incorporation in ceramic bodies, worsening the quality of the roof tiles. It is necessary the use of mixtures of different raw materials under point of view of the granulometry and of the other chemical and mineralogical properties for the obtaining of a satisfactory mass to the production of ceramic roof tiles

A etnomatemática em uma cerâmica da região do Seridó/RN

This work has as objective to describe mathematical knowledge used as tools in the manufacture and marketing of tiles of red ceramic by potters of the Currais Novos village/ RN, located 250 km from the capital of Rio Grande do Norte. For us to reach our objective, we rely on conceptions ambrosianas of Ethnomatematics, besides of the qualitative research in an ethnographic approach. In the empirical part of the research, that went it accomplishes in the period from 2009 to 2012 in the Currais Novos Village, we support the following tools for data collection, semi-structured interviews, field diary, photographs, audio recordings and participant observations. In the analysis of the collected data, we can conclude that there are mathematical knowledge in the management of manufacture and marketing of tiles, often different from the academic mathematics, mainly in the wood cube, on cube of the clays, in the handler with the measures time, the count method , in the arrangement of tiles, in the preparation of the ceramic mass and sale of tiles. Theses knowledge were described and analyzed in the light of the theoretical Ethnomatematics, also supported in official documents, such as Parameters Nacional Curriculares. The analyzes of these knowledge generated subsidies for elaboration of an educational product - a proposal of didactic sequence destined to the Teaching of Mathematics in Elementary and Middle levels for the community schools and region, this proposal is in the Appendix to this work

Avaliação do comportamento de argila ativada na presença de água destilada, soluções salinas e inibidores de hidratação catiônicos

The clay swelling is today one of the major problems during the well drilling. Nearly 50% of clays that constitute shale expand easily in the presence of water molecules. During the drilling of a geological formation containing swelling clays, when is feasible the use of water base fluids, it is necessary to apply clay inhibitors. This avoids the incorporation of the cutting to the drilling fluid which is responsible for the wall swelling and crumbling. The aim of this work was to evaluate the synergistic behavior that occurs when swelling clay inhibitors are associated to NaCl and KCl salts. Three swelling clay inhibitors samples, INIB A, INIB B and INIB C, were analyzed. Each inhibitor was characterized by the amount of chlorides and active matter content. For the water-clay interaction evaluation in the presence of various fluids, it was used the Capillary Suction Timer (CST, Fann) and Linear Swell Meter (LSM 2000, Fann). For better interpretation of results, a Design of Experiments (DOE, Umetrics MODDE 7.0 TM) through Result Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed, taking into account the type, the swelling inhibitors concentration and the contact time with the clay. The results showed different efficiencies among the inhibitors employed, and the salt-inhibitors mixtures were more efficient than those products alone. However, for field operation, other parameters should be taking into account, as operational cost, environmental requests and time of application for each product

Estudo da modificação de bentonita para a remoção de fenol em águas produzidas na indústria de petróleo

This study evaluates the inclusion of quaternary ammonium salt, bromide hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium (HDTMA-Br) on sodium bentonite to evaluate their performance on the adsorption of phenol present in produced water. It was observed an increase in d001 samples modified with HDTMA-Br by diffraction of X-rays, showing the intercalation of quaternary ammonium cations in the interlamellar layers of clay. Through the adsorption isotherms could be abserver adsorption behavior of sodium bentonite and organophilic bentonite produced in three different concentrations of HDTMA-Br for adsorption of phenol, which is the main phenolic compound found in the product water. Different concentrations of synthetic solutions of phenol were placed in contact with these adsorbents under the same conditions of agitation and temperature. The adsorbent showed adsorptive favorable, especially the clay modified with the highest concentration of HDTMA-Br, 150% CEC of clay, BEN30-14, with higher amounts of phenol adsorbed per gram of adsorbent (mg.g-1)

Dessulfurização oxidativa em diesel utilizando catalisadores à base de vanádio ou manganês

The oxidative desulfurization process (ODS) of a commercial diesel fuel was performed under mild conditions in the presence of catalysts based on vanadium or manganese, supported on alumina, clays (commercial, natural and pillared) and zeolites (NaX, NaY, beta, mordenite and ZSM-5). The catalysts were synthesized by wet impregnation and characterized by X-ray diffraction, textural analysis by N2 adsorption and scanning electron microscopy. The dibenzothiophene (DBT) was used as sulfur compound in catalytic evaluation. The reactions were performed using acetonitrile as solvent and the hydrogen peroxide as oxidant at 55°C. The reaction products were analized by gas chromatography (GC-FID). In the studied conditions, the process was efficient due to the DBT was converted to its corresponding sulfone. Both DBT and corresponding sulfone were extracted by the solvent. Removals and oxidations up to 100% of sulfur compound were achieved. The catalysts supported on ZSM-5 zeolite showed are more effective for oxidation reaction of sulfur compound, presenting the best results. It was observed for oxidation reaction, that vanadium catalysts were more effective and manganese catalysts showed best results for removal of sulfur compounds

Estudo comparativo entre a pirólise do polietileno de baixa densidade, utilizando vermiculita modificada e SBA-15

Catalytic processes are widely present in everyday life. This results in large number of studies seeking materials that may combine the low cost catalytic efficiency. Based on this assumption, the clays have long been used as catalysts, with its huge availability, diversity and possibility of improving their properties from structural changes, primarily responsible for this great use. Among the natural clays, vermiculite due to their characteristic properties (high cation exchange capacity and expansion), is suitable for various applications including as catalysts and catalyst supports. In this work, the acid leaching of clay vermiculite was performed, coming from Santa Luzia-PB, with nitric acid (2, 3 and 4 mol / L) and subsequent calcination of the materials obtained. The materials were named as Vx/400, where x is the acid concentration employed and 400 used in calcination temperature. The effectiveness of changes made was determined by XRD techniques, FT-IR, EDS, TG/DTG, nitrogen physisorption and DTP of n-butylamine. Acid leaching has improved some properties of the clay - specific area and acidity - but the control of the acid concentration used is of vital importance, since the highest concentration caused the partial destruction of vermiculite entailing a decline in their properties. For analysis of the catalytic activity of the modified clay was made a comparative study with the SBA -15 mesoporous materials, synthesized via hydrothermal method, using the pyrolysis of low density polyethylene (LDPE). The results showed that the acid plays a fundamental role in the conversion of the polymer into smaller molecules, the material V3/400 was more selective for the source monomer (ethylene) due to their increased acidity, which promotes more breaks bonds in the polymeric chain, while materials and V0/400 V2/400, lower acidity, showed higher selectivity to light hydrocarbons, the range of fuel (41.96 and 41.23%, respectively), due to less breakage and secondary condensation reactions chains; already V4/400 SBA-15/550 and resulted in lower percentages of light hydrocarbons and the partial destruction of the structure and low acidity, respectively, responsible for the inefficiency of materials

Síntese e caracterização de argilas pilarizadas com pilares mistos Al/Co

Two pillaring methods were tested to synthesize pillared clays containing mixed Al/Co pillars. Using the first method, based on the traditional procedure, were obtained materials containing different Co concentrations: 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 % of Co in the pillaring solution. Just the experiments with low concentrations (10 and 25 % of Co) has formed pillared clays, whereas the sample with 25 % of cobalt showed best results compared with the one obtained just using Al as pillaring agent (basal spacing higher than 18 Å and surface area bigger than 300 m²/g). The 27Al NMR results pointed out the formation of mixed Al/Co pillars due to decreased between the intensities of AlVI/AlIV signals, indicating that the AlIV content decreased while Co content increased, suggesting the isomorphic substitution of Al atoms for Co in the Keggin ion structure (pillaring agent). For the samples containing 75 and 100 % of cobalt, it was verified the formation of others materials, which could be identified as hydrotalcite like compounds. The second pillarization method was named mixed layers, because the objective was to intercalate clay layers with hydrotalcite layers. Thus, after calcination, the hydrotalcite layers would dehydroxylate, resulting just in the metals oxides, intercalated between the clay sheets, thus generating, a pillared clay. For this purpose, were tested 4 synthesis procedures: physical mixture, mixture in water, ionic exchange under reflux and in situ synthesis. Of these, the method which showed the best results was the in situ synthesis, in which basal spacings of 14 Å (after calcination) were obtained, indicating that the samples are intercalated with metal oxides (Mg and Al). This procedure was reproduced with a Co-Al LDH (layered double hydroxide) and similar results were obtained, testifying the method reproducibility

Entendendo as propriedades do arenito Botucatu e sua utilização como meio poroso para estudos envolvendo o deslocamento de fluidos poliméricos

The development of products whose purpose is to promote blockages in high permeability zones as well as to control the hydrate or scale formation also needs some tests in porous media before using the product in the field, where attempts and unavoidable operational errors costs would able to derail any projects. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the Botucatu and Berea sandstones properties, involving problems related to loss permeability. It was observed that even cores of Berea, without expansible clays in their composition had their permeability reduced, as soon as the salinity of brine reached a lower limit. As expected, the same happened with the Botucatu sandstone samples, however, in this case, the sensitivity to low salinity was more pronounced. In a second phase, the research was focused on the Botucatu Sandstone behavior front of dilute polymer solutions injection, checking the main relationships between the Rock / Fluid interactions, considering the Mobility Reduction, Resistance and Residual Resistance Factors, as well as adsorption/desorption processes of these polymers, and the polymer molecules average size and porous sandstone average size ratio. The results for both phases showed a real feasibility of using the Botucatu sandstone in laboratory tests whose objective is the displacement of fluids through porous media

Aspectos Morfo-Dinâmicos daComplexo Lagunar Nísia Floresta-Papeba-Guaraíras, Região Costeira Sul Oriental Do RN

This dissertation presents the results of research developed in the Nísia Floresta-Papeba-Guaraíras Lagoon Complex, located on the south coast of the Rio Grande do Norte State. The main objectives of this dissertation were the stratrigraphic characterization, in detail scale, of the and the coastal dynamics study of the lagoonal deposits sedimentation, as well as the morpho-dynamic analysis of the area. Therefore, an interdisciplinary methodology was adopted, in which all sedimentological, morpho-tectonic and geomorphological data were integrated. Vibracore up to 4m in length were carried out in the lagoons. The referred lagoon complex made of a system of three lagoons that interact through two artificial channels, named Boqueirão and Surubajá. The Guaraíras lagoon, the largest one in the system, corresponds to the estuary zone of the Trairi and Jacu rivers. The sedimentary load brought by these rivers is strongly reworked by tide currents, forming an important net-work of channels and sandy bars inside this lagoon and close to its channel connection with the sea. The stratigraphic units of the area are Cenozoic in age, and are represented by sedimentary rocks of the Barreiras Formation (sandstones, mudstones and conglomerates) and by rocks beach, as well as by siliciclastics sediments related with the fluvial dynamics of tide plain (clay and sandy bars), and coast (sand dunes and beaches). Among the recognized geomorphologic aspects, there are the elements associated with continental enviroments (drainage basins of the Trairi, Baldum and Jacu rivers, coastal tableland supported by the Barreiras Formation), and transitional environments (lagoon complex, dune fields, cliffs, tidal channels and beach rocks lines). The morphotectonic analysis indicates that fauts affect Barreiras Formation sedimentary rocks, with two sets of main lineaments: SW-NE and SE-NW. The anomalies in the drainage net are directly associated with these fault/fracture system, which control and subdivede the low courses of the Trairi and Jacu rivers, at least a tail of their flowing principal courses. The Nísia Floresta, Papeba and Guaraíras lagoons present strong morphological control according to the lineament directions. Taking into account the lagoonal deposits, the sedimentological analyses reflect a sediment distribution related to the interaction of the fluvial and sea processes that act in the study area. The correlated deposits show textural mainly microclastic characteristics of shallow waters, and of currents of low to moderate energy.In general, the Nísia Floresta-Papeba-Guaraíras lagoon Complex, constitutes a very intrinsec group, that undewent important changes in historical times that are reflected in the currents clays. Inaddition to the natural processes that act in this system, we should take into account the antrohopic intervention, which have increased in the past years

Estudos sedimentológicos e o contexto estrutural da formação Serra do Martins, nos platôs de Portalegre, Martins e Santana/RN

This dissertation deals with sedimentological and structural framework of the siliciclastic rock of the Serra do Martins Formation (FSM) in the Portalegre, Martins and Santana plateau, located to the south of Potiguar Basin, in the southwest and central Rio Grande do Norte state. This formation, regarded as of Oligo-Miocene age based on intrusive relations of the Miocene Macau volcanics, has a still disputable age due to the lack of appropriate bio and/or chronostratigraphic markers. The FSSM deposits crop out along 650 to 750 m high plateau, as a remanescent sedimentary cover directly overlying topographically uplifted pre-cambrian crystalline rocks. During the last decades, these deposits were interpreted according to a Tertiary paleoclimatic evolutionary model, associated to pedogenetic processes. The sedimentological characterization of the FSM was done through a detailed study of its facies, petrography and diagenetic features. The facies study was based on description of field relations, textures and structures, the piling up of the strata and their lateral variations. The FSM was deposited by an anastomosing to coarse-meandering fluvial system, including deposits of lag, cannel-fill, ouver-bank and flood plain. The petrographic composition of the sediments, coupled to their facies and paleocurrent directions, suggest a rather distal sourcearea, to the south of the present plateau. The diagenetic study identified an incipient grain mechanical compaction, pronounced dissolution of the framework, matrix and/or cement components, intense precipitation of kaolinite, silic and, eventually, iron oxides, besides mechanical infiltration of the clays. Most of these events, regarded in the literature as associated to near-surface conditions (eo or telodiagenesis), indicate the FSM sediments were never deeply buried. Topographic relations along longitudinal and transversal sections reaching the Potiguar Basin to the north identified regional dips that allow to discuss stratigraphic correlations between the FSM and the basin formations. The sedimentological features of the different units and the intrusive relations of the Macau volcanics were also considered in these correlations,which support the Oligo-Miocene age previously accepted for the FSM. Concerning the tectonic framework of the FSM, this work investigated the pre-cambrian to cretaceous heritage and the cenozoic deformation, allowing the recognition of pre-, sin and post-FSM structures. The crystalline basement, belonging to the Seridó Belt, displays NE and WNW foliation trends related to the Brasiliano-age ductile shear zones. In this terrain, brittle-ductile and brittle NE- and NW-trending structures, associated with extensional joints filled with pegmatites and quartz veins, are related to an E-W compression by the end of Brasiliano Cycle. The E-W joints and NE-trending fractures were reactivated by N-S to N-S to NW extension during late Jurassic to Cretaceous times, controlling the emplacement of the Rio Ceará-Mirim basic dyke swarm and the opening of the Potiguar rift basin

Diagênese e proveniência dos arenitos da tectonossequência Rifte na bacias do Rio do Peixe Araripe, NE do Brasil

This thesis presents diagenetic and provenance studies of sandstones belonging to the Rift Tectonosequence of the Rio do Peixe and Araripe basins. These basins are located in the interior of Northeast Brazil aligned along the Trend-Cariri Potiguar. Their origin is related to the Early Cretaceous rifting event. In terms of lithostratigraphy, the studied section corresponds to the Antenor Navarro, Sousa and Rio Piranhas formations of the Rio do Peixe Basin, and the Missão Velha and Abaiara formations of the Araripe Basin, outcropping in the central-west Cariri Valley. A facies analysis was performed and identified nine distinct sedimentary facies for the Rio de Peixe Basin and ten sedimentary facies for the Araripe Basin, individualized according to the different rock types and their sedimentary structures. These facies associations to led paleoenvironments interpretations and their vertical succession allowed understanding the evolution of the depositional setting during the cronostratigraphic interval studied in these basins. Based on petrographic and diagenetic studies it was possible to characterize the texture and mineralogy of these sandstones, identifying their diagenetic stage and the grain framework provenance. The petrographic study allowed to classify the lithotypes studied in both basins as quartzarenites. Such quartzarenites, in general, are rich in quartz, feldspar and lithic fragment grains, and at accessory levels tourmaline, sphene, zircon, epidote and other mineralogy. The diagenetic history of the studied rocks proved to be very complex, being characterized by a variety mineral of phases that succeeded each other during the eo, meso and telodiagenetic stages. According to the studied formation and the textural and compositional aspects of the rocks, some processes were more or less active, while others were even absent. The eodiagenetic stage is marked by mechanical infiltration of clays and early mechanical compactional processes. The mesodiagenetic phase is characterized by continuity of the mechanical compaction and the beggining of chemical compaction, with quartz and feldspar overgrowths, precipitation of kaolinite, alteration of framework grains to chlorite and illite, and finally, precipitation of opaque minerals. The telodiagenetic stage is represented by the oxidation of some grains, matrix and cements. For the provenance analysis of the studied sandstones were used ternary diagrams whose vertices correspond to the percentage of quartz, feldspar and lithic fragments. This study allowed identifies the source area of these rocks as continental blocks. It was also possible, based on the chemical stability and mineralogical maturity of the rocks, recognize that the Antenor Navarro Formation of the Rio do Peixe Basin, and the upper section of the Missão Velha Formation of Araripe Basin have less maturity and stability when compared with the other studied formations

Obtenção de organovermiculitas utilizando tensoativos e microemulsões e suas aplicações na separação de isômeros do Xileno

Surfactants are versatile organic compounds that have, in a single molecule, double chemical affinity. The surfactant molecule is composed by a hy drophobic tail group, a hydrocarbon chain (linear, branched, or mixed), and by a hydrophilic head group, which contains polar groups that makes it able to be applied in the organophilization process of natural clays. Microemulsions are microheterogeneous b lends composed by: a surfactant, an oily phase (non - polar solvent), an aqueous phase, and, sometimes, a co - surfactant (short - chain alcohol). They are systems with thermodynamic stability, transparent, and have high solubility power. Vermiculite is a clay m ineral with an expandable crystalline structure that has high cation exchange capacity. In this work vermiculite was used to obtain organoclays. The ionic surfactants dodecyl ammonium chlori de (DDAC) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (C 16 TAB) were used in the organophilization process. They were used as surfactant aqueous solutions and, for DDAC, as a microemulsion system. The organoclays were used to promote the separation of binary mixtures of xylene isomers (ortho - and meta - xylene). Dif ferent analytical techniques were used to characterize microemulsion systems and also the nanoclays. It was produced a water - rich microemulsion system with 0.92 nm droplet average diameter. The vermiculite used in this work has a cationic exchange capacity of 172 meq/100g and magnesium as main cation (24.25%). The basal spacing of natural vermiculite and organo - vermiculites were obtained by X - ray Diffraction technique. The basal spacing was 1.48nm for natural vermiculite, 4.01nm for CTAB - vermiculite (CTAB 4 ) , and 3.03nm for DDAC - vermiculite (DDAC M1A), that proves the intercalation process. Separation tests were carried out in glass columns using three binary mixtures of xylene (ortho - xylene and meta - xylene). The results showed that the organovermiculite pre sented an enhanced chemical affinity by the mixture of hydrocarbons, when compared with the natural vermiculite, and also its preference by ortho - xylene. A factorial experimental design 2 2 with triplicate at the central point was used to optimize the xylen e separation process. The experimental design revealed that the initial concentration of isomers in the mixture and the mass of organovermiculite were the significant factors for an improved separation of isomers. In the experiments carried out using a bin ary mixture of ortho - xylene and meta - xylene (2:1), after its percolating through the organovermiculite bed (DDAC M1), it was observed the preference of the organoclay by the ortho - xylene isomer, which was retained in greater quantity than the meta - xylene o ne. At the end of the treatment, it was obtained a final concentration in meta - xylene of 47.52%.

Análise de estabilidade de falésias na zona costeira de Baía Formosa - RN

The natural and anthropogenic changes that are occurring at the coastal zone around the world represent the greatest problem to society in this century. This problem becomes more evident due to high density of coastal cities, to growing tourist-estate speculation of those areas and to climate change that tend to trigger and accelerate the erosive processes that operating in the littoral. In this context, it‟s possible perceive ever more a significant increase of problems associated to the coastal erosion and retreat of cliffs in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, where this study area of this search is located. The area is located in the coastal zone of the city of Baía Formosa/RN, in south-eastern coast of Rio Grande do Norte, and has a extension of about 1200 meters along the Porto beach. The main objective of this study is to analyze the stability of these cliffs in this region. Through field investigations, testings and computational analysis using the Finite Element Method and Equilibrium Limit Methods. The area was divided into four sections, and were applied checklists, and also realized characterization tests and direct shear tests with materials obtained along these sections. In this manner, it was found that the segments of cliff in this coastal zone have heights around 4 meters to 14 meters and inclinations of approximately 40° to 90°.However the constituents soils of the cliffs were classified, in general terms in accordance to Unified Soil Classification System (USCS), as clayey sands or silty sands, clays of low plasticity, clayey gravels and poorly graduaded sands. The most variegated and clayey soils belong to base of the cliff. The stability analysis showed that the safety factors ranged in section 01, from 1.92 to 4.93, in the section 02, from 1.00 to 1.43, in the section 03, from 1.36 to 1.75 , and section 04, from 1.00 to 3.64. Thus, the sections 02 and 03 were considered more unstable. However, the section 03 can be considered as the most critical section due to the absence of coastal protection structures and the narrow strip of beach.

Características estruturais e fotocatalíticas do compósito oxihidróxido de nióbio/vermiculita

The preparation of nanostructured materials using natural clays as support, has been studied in literature under the same are found in nature and consequently, have a low price. Generally, clays serve as supports for metal oxides by increasing the number of active sites present on the surface and can be applied for various purposes such as adsorption, catalysis and photocatalysis. Some of the materials that are currently highlighted are niobium compounds, in particular, its oxides, by its characteristics such as high acidity, rigidity, water insolubility, oxidative and photocatalytic properties. In this scenario, the study aimed preparing a composite material oxyhydroxide niobium (NbO2OH) / sodium vermiculite clay and evaluate its effectiveness with respect to the natural clay (V0) and NbO2OH. The composite was prepared by precipitation-deposition method and then characterized by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDS), thermal analysis (TG/DTG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 adsorption-desorption and investigation of distribution of load. The application of the material NbO2OH/V0 was divided in two steps: first through oxidation and adsorption methods, and second through photocatalytic activity using solar irradiation. Studies of adsorption, oxidation and photocatalytic oxidation monitored the percentage of color removal from the dye methylene blue (MB) by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The XRD showed a decrease in reflection d (001) clay after modification; the FTIR indicated the presence of both the clay when the oxyhydroxide niobium to present bands in 1003 cm-1 related to Si-O stretching bands and 800 cm-1 to the Nb-O stretching. The presence of niobium was also confirmed by EDS indicated that 17 % by mass amount of the metal. Thermal analysis showed thermal stability of the composite at 217 °C and micrographs showed that there was a decrease in particle size. The investigation of the surface charge of NbO2OH/V0 found that the material exhibits a heterogeneous surface with average low and high negative charges. Adsorption tests showed that the composite NbO2OH/V0 higher adsorption capacity to remove 56 % of AM, while the material removed from V0 only 13 % showed no NbO2OH and adsorptive capacity due to the formation of H-aggregates. The percent removal of dye color for the oxidation tests showed little difference from the adsorption, being 18 and 66 % removal of dye color for V0 and NbO2OH/V0 respectively. The NbO2OH/V0 material shows excellent photocatalytic activity managing to remove just 95,5 % in 180 minutes of the color of MB compared to 41,4 % and 82,2 % of V0 the NbO2OH, proving the formation of a new composite with distinct properties of its precursors.